commodoredave

The reviews so far are disappointing. I hope the onboard product improves before our cruise in March. Vistaman, I am retired and looking to supplement my meagre pension. If you need someone to carry your bags onboard I would be happy to accommodate you for a small fee! 😉

I get it. Today, very few if any senior cruise line execs follow their board on Cruise Critic and see our comments -- good or bad. In fact, if a cruise line has its own FaceBook page, it's more likely that our comments will be seen there, although they tend to cancel anyone who criticizes them. But it wasn't always that way. I recall when Regent was taken over by Apollo (who at the time also owned Oceania and a minority stake in NCL), there was lots of criticism about it on Cruise Critic. To his credit, Frank Del Rio, who was appointed CEO of the newly acquired Regent, responded to a bunch of comments on the Regent Board. Everyone was impressed by this as it made a loud statement that Del Rio cared about what people were saying about his cruise line, and that he was listening. I think we need more Del Rios in today's cruise industry.

The suggestions are going to Carol on Tuesday. It’s up to you and others if you would like yours included. Otherwise, it’s just mine which I am happy to send on their own.

However, i do have Carol’s email and can send her everyone’s suggestions next week! At least someone in her office may notice that!

Probably!!

…or should I say Chief Executive & Customer Service Officer!!

Wishful thinking I guess. Fixing some of their onshore service issues is not rocket science. The CEO just has to make it a priority.

I just posted some suggestions to improve customer service at Azamara on another thread I started called "An AzAmazing Voyage to Mediocrity." Please feel free to add your own ideas.

I still can’t figure out why the onshore customer service loop at Azamara is so broken as illustrated by the couple in the story and comments here and other threads on this board. When things go wrong, there doesn’t appear to be any process at Azamara that will get issues properly resolved in a timely manner. So here are a couple of suggestions for Azamara’s leadership: 1. Establish a clear process for the escalation of unresolved complaints and issues. For example, any complaint not resolved within 14 business days gets elevated to the next level of management, and so on until it reaches the Office of the CEO. 2. Make great customer service part of the Azamara culture by anchoring responsibility for it at a senior executive level and making it visible by adding “Customer Service” to an executive’s title. For example, Chief Operation & Customer Service Officer. Or Chief Executive & Customer Service Officer.” What do you think? If you have any other suggestions for improving customer service at Azamara, feel free to add them. Together, we might be able to help Azamara make some great improvements.

Don, that is what I also hear. It would appead that the shoreside people are letting down the great people on board the ships. In fact, it may have gotten to the point that even some travel agencies are getting frustrated with Azamara. That is never a good outcome, especially since TAs have influence over who their clients choose to cruise with.

Some people like to find typos. Perhaps the author put one in the story to make you happy! 😀

Perhaps tellingly, Azamara does not have a single senior executive with responsibilty for customer service as per their own company biographies. https://www.azamara.com/about-azamara/our-leadership?_aiid=14597&teng=go&beng=g&deng=c&peng=&ieng=&kieng=&cieng=&cpieng=17143435092&feng=&cleng=Cj0KCQjwgNanBhDUARIsAAeIcAsyOK-zOyj6MHDRdZp8pSKPc9YUiNGB2YY10TrRlL5L2Q7JGtSvZmYaAiWaEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Performance_Max_Non_Brand_Google

I respect your optimism. And I hope it is well-placed. However, I have more faith in the onboard staff than I do with Sycamore Partners. There are few, if any, private investment companies that don't pursue a strategy of milking the cow dry to make money, then sell the cow before it dies.

If there were only 2 customers complaining about poor service from Azamara this would not be an issue. However, judging from comments on other threads in the Azamara forum, I suspect the problem goes much deeper. Certainly not yet terminal, but deserving of attention at the top before it gets worse.

People on this thread may be interested in the story linked below. Not only does it address the declining service at Azamara, but it provides a link to this thread. https://gentlemansportion.com/2023/09/04/an-azamazingly-sad-decline/

An interesting story about Azamara’s decline, particularly with respect to shoreside management and customer service. https://gentlemansportion.com/2023/09/04/an-azamazingly-sad-decline/

Well, if you are over 70 and didn't have a mobility issue before the white water rafting, you may have one afterwards!

From what I have been reading in the Explora forum, the company seems to have targetted people under 65 from Russia who want shorter cruises!

I agree. But I’m guessing there won’t be any caviar on the beach with the piranhas and crocodiles.

Glad to hear it. Champagne and caviar belong on every great ship, expedition or not!

Should I be worried if it’s being caused by someone else?!

Our TA asked Seabourn about this and we heard back late yesterday that my wife could board the ship with her medical certificate. However, her shore visits will be conditional on officials at each port. So far the only port listed as yellow fever vaccine required is Devil’s Island in French Guinea.

My wife is over 70 but in good health other than high blood pressure for which she takes medication.

It seems that SS air works for some, but not all. It really depends on where you are flying from/to, when you book, and if you care what airline and route SS chooses for you. 95% of the time I have been able to book cheaper biz flights, with better routes, with fewer connections doing it on my own. So you would be well advised to shop and compare.

Some cruises, including South American ones that may call at certain places like French Guinea, require Yellow Fever vaccines for passengers who want to go ashore. However, as the Yellow Fever vaccine is a live vaccine, it is dangerous for many people over 60 to take. Here is what one prominent travel medical clinic says about it: "If you are aged 60 years or older and are travelling to countries where there is a low potential for exposure to yellow fever you should not have yellow fever vaccine . In these instances, due to a higher risk of life-threatening side effects in this age group, yellow fever vaccine is not recommended." So, would you get the vaccine anyway, stay onboard the ship, or just not take the cruise? And might the cruise line refuse you boarding for not having a Yellow Fever vaccine? I ask because we are booked on a Seabourn Amazon cruise in October, and my wife today was refused a Yellow Fever vaccine by a travel medical doctor for age reasons.